This invention relates in general to eyeglass frames and more particularly to eyeglass frames which are both easily manufactured and quickly assembled.
The majority of eyeglass frames manufactured today include a lens supporting structure to which two temples are pivotally attached by means of a hinge assembly. The hinges can be metal or plastic, and a pin secures the hinge member of the lens support to the hinge member of the temple. The hinge members are glued, screwed or fastened by some other means to the lens support and temple. Assembly of such frames utilizing metal or plastic hinges with a screw or pin required a number of manufacturing steps which complicate the assembly process.
Eyeglass frames are also manufactured using other known pivoting connector assemblies which provide free movement of the temples with respect to the lens supporting structure. A basic requirement for any pivoting connector assembly is that the temple movement be made easily, and the pivoting assembly be strong and reliable. The pincipal problem with all known assemblies, as in the case of hinge assemblies described above, is that the assemblies are rather complex. This complexity results in added initial hardware and assembly costs as well as unnecessarily high repair costs.
In co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 018,746 filed Mar. 3, 1987, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention, a spectacle hinge assembly is disclosed in which, in one embodiment, the lens supporting structure includes a receiving member having a pair of ramped slots for receiving a temple member that supports a pin. As the temple member is forced into the receiving member with the pin aligned with the slots, the slotted portions of the receiving member separate until the pin is captured in a hole at the end of the slots. In another embodiment, the pin is a spring loaded pin and the slotted portions do not separate. The pin simply compresses until it is captured in the hole.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,479 (also assigned to the assignee of the present invention) another spectacle hinge assembly is disclosed in which the temple member includes a pair of ramped slots and a lens supporting structure includes an extension that retains a pin. During assembly the pin is aligned with the slots and the parts forced together until the pin is captured by a pin receiving hole at the end of the slots.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,156,756 a spectacle hinge structure is disclosed in which a first member has a pair of apertured hinge leaves with ramped guide slots leading to each aperture (pin hole) and a second member embodies a hinge ear with opposing outwardly extending lugs (pins). When the hinge ear is forced between the hinge leaves with the lugs aligned with the ramped slots, the hinge leaves open slightly until the lugs fall into the apertures.
In U.S. Des. 285,452, there is disclosed a temple member for a spectacle with an integral hinge housing. The hinge housing comprises two hinge leaves, each of which have a slot leading to a pin-receiving aperture.
While the spectacle hinge assemblies described above may provide for easy assembly and, in some cases, a reliable hinge structure, the molding process for creating the two-hinge components is rather complicated and unnecessarily increases the cost of tooling production. Specifically, each of these structures require very close fitting of molding tools as well as secondary tooling motions that are not in the direction of mold closure.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide an eyeglass frame structure which is easily assembled and easily molded.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an eyeglass frame which can be molded without the need for secondary side motions in the tooling.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an eyeglass frame which is strong and reliable and which can be inexpensively manufactured.